Within the Underworld, there was a lush green garden encircling a mansion, Faraam, Manus and a guard of the mansion stood before each other.
-"State your purpose, humans."
The guard, who was wearing a suit, immediately knew their race, and took to questioning their reasons for being where they were.
Manus, knowing Faraam is not one to talk, took the initiative to speak for himself and Faraam.
-"Ah, I take it humans are not common around here?"
-"No, they are not, and even if humans were to enter, they do not last long."
The guard responded with a firm tone, he was not indicative of them having to leave, but, he was not indicative of them being welcome as well.
-"Apologies, then, we are not from this world, it seems, I awoke here, beckoned by a darkness I awoke amidst.
I am Manus, and this is Faraam, a man with such resolve, he came through a gate to this world, is what he said."
The guard raised his right eyebrow, changing his direction of vision from Faraam to Manus, then from Manus to Faraam.
-"Not from this world? Otherworlders..
Darkness you woke in? Hm.. How curious.
I am sure my Lady Blanc would love to learn of both your existences up close, especially the darkness you speak of, and how a human willingly went through an Underworld Gate and survived thus far.
Come with me, I grant you permission to enter the Garden of White."
Manus and Faraam followed silently, and they entered a pulchritudinous garden, filled with the finest of white lotuses and lilies, almost as if they weren't just standing on ground that was colored black but scorching hot.
And the deeper into the Garden of White they went, the more beautiful the scenery was.
It was almost a natural forest, serene and quiet.
And sitting at the end of the path, a woman, with a cup of what Faraam and Manus could only make out to be tea, waiting for them, with one leg over the other, her palms grasping the cup and its plate.
She took a sip, and set the cup down on the plate which sat atop a small table to the chair's side.
"Lady Blanc, I have brought these two to you, I hope you already know what transpired for me to have done so."
An innocent smile appeared on her face..
-"Thank you for your work, you may leave."
Her voice was clear and youthful, if either of them had to guess, she sounded like a young adult, but, within this world, looks can be deceiving.
"You two are called Manus and Faraam, as I have heard, correct?"
Manus, once more, takes the initiative and speaks for the both of them.
-"Yes, we are thankful for your welcoming of us."
Manus, for all of what he was as a legend of horror, was actually very composed and very well behaved.
-"Oh, pardon my rudeness, take a seat, I shouldn't have let you stand for so long."
And so they did, well, Manus did.
Faraam refused to sit down, opting instead to stand to the right of Manus.
"My my~, what a cautious man, you needn't worry, I wouldn't hurt you, I have no need to, in fact, you two might prove useful to me."
A small chuckle escaped her mouth as she finished her sentence, Manus and Faraam were unfazed by any attempt at causing discomfort by her.
Manus took to explaining who they were, why they were here, and what they had planned to do.
-"As stated before, I am Manus, and this is Faraam.
We are both from different time periods from our world, I am ancient in comparison to him, but, this does not change the fair difference of power between me and him.
He is apparently a man who has achieved the highest power of his time.
But, with all his might, comes one thing, silence.
He does not enjoy speaking, as he deems it a waste of time, he only needs the words of others to move forward."
The woman, Blanc, put a finger over her mouth in curiosity.
-"Oh my, isn't he just so devoted to moving forward..
Well..~"
Her innocent smile stretched further, and she continued her talk with an even more curious tone.
"How about I help you do just that..? Hmm?
I am sure we can figure out a way for mutual benefit, no?
And, for you, Manus, we can also agree on knowledge sharing, and you can stay here.
You see, I am quite bored of the normal humans trying to summon me for petty things, and, seeing as two individuals as interesting as you came by, why not just offer a helping hand in exchange for something else?"
And there she goes, giving out her intentions.
She was a woman without fears; for she know she was more than strong enough to kill these two should it be required, such was the demon pride.
Manus laughed, his laugh light on the ears, but it was from the heart.
-"Straight to the point, no messing around, you remind me of that knight that once ventured throughout an entire land in no time just to get to me!
And from then his fate was sealed.
But, from you, I can see that you do not intend to put ulterior motives in motion, correct?"
The two were talking about things Faraam had no interest in, and he slowly lost his focus on the conversation.
He thought back to one line she said.
"How about I help you do just that."
That's his focus.
That's all he cared about.
Selfishness, greed, all things that had become part of his identity one way or another.
He returned his focus back to the woman when she questioned him.
-"So, Faraam, since Manus here has agreed, what do you think?
I'll give you the information you need to go forward, what routes to take, information on monsters, all of that, if you can confirm one thing for me.
Confirm for me the existence of a new individual who seems to be on the rise, as I have taken information from a close colleague that there is a monster of interest that seems to have drawn him, and my colleague is by no means anyone.
He has a refined taste for beings, much like mine.
What will your choice be?"
Remembering all that, Faraam stared forward, he felt something, someone, coming.
He had accepted that job with a small nod.
He stood up, seeing a group of individuals now.
They seemed to be passing back to the frontier settlement he was just in, and judging from the direction they came from, they must have come from the capital Lura.
And the men weren't happy seeing him.
As it so happens to be, these were some of the men that were part of the minority that didn't want him in their land.
-"You! You're that hotshot who killed all those demons! I'll be damned if I let you go kill more of our prey!"
Faraam stared silent at them, as that group of seven made space between each other, half-encircling him.
"Attack him! Leave nothing of him to be found!"
He quickly discerned their basic information with one glance, that was the experience of an immensely hardened veteran.
Two mages, one seems to be casting a fire spell, and the rest were just knights.
All of these people were nothing to be messed with, but, they were nothing to Faraam.
The fire finished casting and was thrown at Faraam, but, in its course, Faraam grabbed the man charging head first at him, and made him eat up the attack, which incinerated his body, and it was charred black, as his screams faded after a few seconds.
The others stared in shock, and rage ensued even more.
Faraam pulled out his Murakumos, and the second he saw two of those melee warriors come into proximity, they were minced meat.
One was sliced diagonally from his shoulder to torso with his blood spraying everywhere, the other had his entire scalp chopped off with Faraam's sword.
Faraam saw the other mage casting a spell, now this spell had some invisible element to it.
No, it wasn't invisible, it was wind.
A blade of wind was what was about to hit Faraam, he knew this would spell trouble, he couldn't be too careful in regards to spells like this, he didn't know how tough they were and how much they could pierce before giving in.
So, to make sure he didn't get hit, Faraam took the fire mage hostage after dashing to him.
The wind caster ceased his spell, as the remaining two knights rushed at him, thinking they can kill him before he lets go of the hostage.
Faraam slit the throat of the hostage, and continuing the motion of the split, did a spinning attack that took the lives of the two men charging at him.
All timed to perfection.
Blood stained, Faraam walked to the terrified wind caster.
The wind caster fell over backwards, and was going to run.
But he froze in fear, seeing Faraam's eyes through his helmet ever so slightly.
And that spelled his death.
He was decapitated by a quick side slash from Faraam.
Heads rolled.
Arms severed.
So it was, Faraam would have to do this many times over, but at this point, this was mere nothing to him.
With a goal in sight, Faraam set foot into new lands, hoping to reach Lura as soon as possible.
No, it was not him hoping.
It was him knowing he'll reach it soon, and his senses of danger scream at him to turn back before he encounters absolute chaos.